Tom Garrity, the Aeros' interim president, told Houston Business Journal that when negotiators from the American Hockey League team and its parent, the NHL's Minnesota Wild, saw that a deal to renew a lease at the Toyota Center likely would not be reached, the team first considered other possibilities in the Houston area.

“There were some brief discussions with Sugar Land trying to build a new facility, and we had looked at reconfiguring Reliant Arena for hockey. But with the rodeo taking over in March, we'd have to be out of there for six weeks,” Garrity said.

Despite the fact that the team appreciated its core of passionate fans and businesses that supported the Aeros over the years, the decision to leave was based on cold, hard economic facts.

The Aeros were paying about $23,000 per game (with 38 regular home games per season) on their Toyota Center lease, but the team will pay less than half that amount at the Wells Fargo Arena in Des Moines, Iowa. The Aeros finished this year a respectable seventh in average league attendance, with 6,793 attendees per home game in the Toyota Center, which can seat up to 17,800 when configured for hockey games.

“We tried pretty diligently to work out the (Toyota Center) lease. Both sides did. They wanted to raise the rent a bit because it's a busy building and they could bring in a lot more events (that could increase revenue),” Garrity said.

Serious negotiations with officials in Iowa began 60 days ago, Garrity said. Three other cities — Tulsa, Okla.; Wichita, Kan.; and Kansas City — were also considered earlier in the process.

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